


Waking Nightmare

by ChingKittyCat



Category: Hoshi no Kaabii | Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Kirby - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Humor, Gen, Pre-Canon, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 02:46:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13378485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChingKittyCat/pseuds/ChingKittyCat
Summary: "During rapid eye movement (REM) sleep the brain has vivid dreams, while the muscles of the body are essentially turned off. While sleeping, the muscles are unable to move so that the person won't be able to act out dreams with their body. Sleep paralysis happens when a person wakes up before REM is finished."





	Waking Nightmare

    "Ugh, bugs!"  
    Jecra slapped at the bloodsucking bug that landed on his unarmored arm, splattering its guts all over him. Perhaps if he were younger, he'd have been disgusted by the guts, but both he and Jecra had spilled enough gore that such things were trivial.   
    "One thing I hate about these scouting missions; the bugs. Everything else? The camping out? It's great. It's just the bugs. Why can't we ever get sent out to a desert to scout?"  
    Jecra complained, lifting up his mask with the same hand he'd used to smack himself. He took a nice sip of the hot cocoa he was drinking. Even if the night wasn't particularly cold, the guy loved drinking the stuff. Not that Meta Knight was bound to complain.. He was drinking some as well.  
    "Enemy doesn't send his forces to hide in deserts."  
    "Well, he should!"  
    "Yeah, he should. So that way we can get rid of them easier."  
    "Exactly."  
    Jecra took a sip of his cocoa, then coughed a bit.  
    "I believe it'd be easier to dispel them if you weren't so insistent on joke flirting with them."  
    Meta Knight rolled his eyes as he clinked the mug up against his own mask, forgetting that he even had the thing on for a moment.  
    "Bro, I gotta practice, you know that."  
    "On literal monsters."  
    It was a question Meta Knight spoke like a unamused statement.   
    "Yes. And just because they're monsters on the outside doesn't mean they're the same on the inside."  
    Meta Knight knew that some of the soldiers Enemy created were sentient. Some were capable of speech, of thought, and weren't just blind followers of their creator. For those few, he felt sympathetic. For the others, the one that Jecra jokingly flirted with, they were one-hundred percent non-sentient.   
    "Yamikage can tell you that much."  
    Meta Knight held back a spit take at that punchline.  
    "Jecra!"  
    Meta Knight scolded, only for Jecra to seem rather smug from the reaction.  
    "He's out and about t-"  
    "Jecra!!"  
    Jecra just began laughing loudly at Meta's abashment on the topic. Yeah, Yamikage.. Well, he's certainly the character amongst the GSA. Jecra was more than happy to jump on the bandwagon of calling the guy a.. Uhm.. Well, 'monster' then an explicit term. Jecra rode that bandwagon and then started driving it himself. He was just in love with the whole concept of making fun of the monster sympathizing ninja.  
    "Why do I even associate with you??"  
    Meta Knight always had to bear the brunt of Jecra's crude, juvenile humor. Always.  
    "Because you loooove meeee."  
    Meta Knight scoffed at the response, going and sipping his cup of warm chocolate milk through the gap in his mask whilst Jecra finished his off in a single swig. Jecra just put his mug down by the campfire, then got up.  
    "I'mma go to bed early, bro-"  
    "And leave me with the cups to wash?"  
    It was Jecra's turn to wash them..  
    "Yup."  
    Jecra was already walking over to his tent, and Meta soon saw him disappear behind the plastic sheets. A familiar 'ziiiip' noise as he did up the zipper on the tent's door.  
    "I sleep in there too, Jecra."  
    There was only one tent, and it was big enough for two people. The two were used to sharing a room anyways, so it wasn't much of a problem. It'd be more awkward if they didn't know eachother or didn't grow up together.  
    "You gotta do the dishes first!"  
    Meta Knight groaned at Jecra's consistently childish ways. Yes, they were entertaining and a breath of fresh air amongst all the hyper-serious war soldiers that the GSA harbored, but geez.  
    Finishing off his own cup, Meta Knight went and retrieved Jecra's, headed over to the supply bag they'd brought, and washed the two using a little water from the water canteen. Since they were scouting in a forest, the two could afford to wash their dishes because of the presence of rivers.  
    Meta Knight turned his eyes skyward, to look at the supermoons. So big and bright..  
    He just sorta stood and looked at the sky for a bit. The two moons, the bright, twinkling stars that weren't obscured by clouds or light pollution.. Camping out, scouting, all that really gave him quite a bit to look at, huh?  
    Blinking twice then emptying out the cups, he wiped them with the soft fabric of his cape to dry, then placed back into the supply bag. With a bit of effort, Meta Knight dragged the bag over to a nearby bush, pushing it in.  
    With a slight wheeze, Meta Knight went over and put out the fire, then headed to the tent. He 'knocked' on the 'door', not waiting for a reaction.  
    "You're going to do the dishes tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow."  
    "Bro, I dunno if I wanna let you in when your opening line is that."  
    "Jecra.."  
    Meta Knight was halfway to facepalming.  
    "Alright, alright."  
    There was a quick unzipping of the tent's door, letting Meta Knight into it's plastic shelter. Inside there were two sleeping bags, situated parallel to eachother and comfortably on either side of the tent. The tent wasn't big per-say, but it did have enough room for there to be a little bit of space between the bags. A little walkway. Jecra was sitting on his bag, taking off his cape, mask, and other armor whilst Meta Knight zipped up the door.  
    Meta Knight followed Jecra's suit, taking off his cape and pauldrons, but leaving his mask on. No questions were asked, the two just got into their respective sleeping bags, and Jecra eventually reached over from his bag to turn off the lantern.  
    "Night, brobro."  
    "Goodnight, Jecra."  
    Meta Knight stared up at the ceiling, hearing Jecra shift and turn over in his bag to get properly comfortable. The blue orb blinked, relaxed, then closed his eyes. Listening to the sounds outside, hearing the faint noises of alien birds and rustling wind. He could hear something wandering around, hopping and then stopping. It sounded close, but then it stopped and headed off in the opposite direction of camp.  
    Drifting to the soft noises of the night, Meta Knight felt rather serene as blackness, dreamless sleep greeted him.  
    It  _should've_ been dreamless. It  _should've_ been black.  
    But it's  _not_.  
    It's flashing, loud. Colors, people, images. So fast, blaring, and screaming. Things, things of all shapes. Insignificant, tiny, and large at the same time. Like a television on the wrong channel, on the wrong volume, at the wrong time. Things. Too many, screaming, shifting and breaking. Snapping, twisting, healing and piecing themselves together.  
    Soft, loud, stabbing. Stabbing, needle-like. Needles, needles piercing, piercing the sky; the body. Oozing tar, oozing stars. Gushing out cosmos, out static and water. Needles, weaving and ripping flesh and sky together. Songs softly loud that overhung the noises of fabric moving, all playing at once; independently. Like a gracious beautiful, horrendous poem written out through keysmashing.   
    Breathing. In his ears. Amongst everything else; invisible. Unfeelable. Nothing, everything, all at once.   
    Meta Knight's eyes snapped open. He felt like he would've gasped, but his body didn't respond to him. His mouth did not open, his limbs did not spasm in sudden shock of what he'd seen. He was freaking out, yes, he wanted to yell. Nothing, not even a whine came from him.  
    His heart was pounding in his head. The most that came out of him was slightly accelerated breathing.  
    His eyes dashed around the tent, looking at Jecra's back, at the walls, then at the ceiling once more. Logic and reason came back to him, but.. He was still confused. Fear gripped at the sides of his mind as he realized he was entirely immobilized.  
    Through the plastic ceiling, he could see the bright lights of the supermoons. Like two, gigantic stars that slightly hurt his eyes to look directly into.  
    Meta Knight's heart jumped when a familiar noise came to light.   
    'Ziiip..'  
    His eyes met a sight horrifying for anyone who was incapable of defending themselves; an unknown intruder creeping their way into one's room. A singular claw, long and metal, had snuck itself beneath the tiny space the zipper hadn't reached and tortuously pulled it up.  
    Meta Knight wanted to scream. No, he  _needed_ to scream. He and Jecra, they'd be mauled otherwise. No noise came from him. None at all. All he could do is watch, watch as something unknown made itself known in the scariest way possible.  
    As the tent's entrance opened more and more, Meta Knight could see more of whatever was trying to enter. The claw was one of five on a hand. An index finger, specifically. They gleamed in the moonlight like metal.  
    Metal.. Metal hands. Metal hands, no- nono no, no no no-  
    His heart's pounding in his ears again. This has to be a dream. This can't be real. It feels so real, though. The way his eyes had hurt from looking at the moons, the way he could feel his heart trying to rip itself out of his chest. The now slight buzz of bugs being let into the tent by the intruder.   
    It was very, very real.  
    There, right outside his shelter stood a warlord so powerful that speaking his true name was like asking for Lady Luck to refer you to her cute best friend; Death. With a blue, flowing cape and a face so emotionless that no amount of even burning pain promised to even faze it, he was there.  
    Enemy.  
     _Nightmare_.  
    "It's a fire hazard to leave campfires smoking.."  
    That's. That's not the voice or the thing Meta Knight imagined he'd say or sound like. He'd never once even gotten close to the tyrant wizard before; much less heard him talk. Despite the unfitting voice the fellow had, Meta Knight was still absolutely racked with terror.  
    "But it is a great signal that tells others where you are.."  
    Oh. No, no, Meta Knight had stomped it out! He'd stomped it out completely! He- No, no, he didn't leave it smoking!   
    As if he could hear Meta Knight's thoughts, Enemy moved the side ever so slightly to let the orb see the black logs of the campfire. A small column of smoke twiddled out from the middle of it, high above what the tent would allow him to view.  
    "..Mhmhm.." He chuckled, but it was entirely without a smile or actual enthusiasm. He sounded like he was laughing because he had to, not because he wanted to. Like a chore. "You're scared.."  
    YEAH, OBVIOUSLY.  
    "Calm down.."  
    He'd entered the tent now, and Meta Knight watched as the fellow's hand came closer and closer to him. He couldn't move. He couldn't scream. All he could do was blink. Blink and breathe. Even when Enemy's hand cradled his face in pseudo-comfort, dragging his nails along the mask so that it made a terrible scratching noise, he couldn't do anything.  
    "I do not plan on hurting you.. For now.."  
    Oh Stars, someone  _help him_.  
    Just like that, the ghost-like touch of Enemy left his mask, and instead.. The wizard turned his head towards Jecra. No, no, Stars no, focus on him, focus on Meta Knight! Don't touch Jecra!  
    Enemy placed his hand on Jecra's side and turned him over to face Meta Knight. Jecra looked serene, untroubled. Meta Knight's mental screams couldn't reach Jecra. Nothing could.   
    "..Your friend is.. Interesting.."  
    Enemy mumbled, idly touching Jecra's face. Stars, Jecra, please wake up..! You're literally being poked by  _Enemy_!!  
    "Purple skin.. He looks like he would work for me just fine.."  
    No, no, no, no, do not take Jecra!!  
    "Maybe even of his own accord.. Hm.."  
    Meta Knight snaps his eyes completely shut. He doesn't want to see this. Go away, go away, go away-  
    "Just because you close your eyes does not mean I'm suddenly gone, Meta Knight."  
    Wh- What, how did he know his name. Meta Knight's eyes go back, wide open as he locks— he assumed to be— eyes with the sorcerer. A horrible silence drifted between the two as Meta Knight just stared into the ever-moving expanse that was Enemy's glasses.  
    "..Mm.. You fear for your friend more than yourself.."  
    Meta Knight hears and sees Enemy's claws against the forehead of his mask. Just the tips, light and scratching. Enemy moves them with horrid gentleness. Meta Knight internally cringes.  
    "How selfless.. If I were to ask you who I should kill between the two of you.. You'd pick yourself, wouldn't you..?"  
    He'd want neither. That's what he'd pick.  
    "I believe you have use for me.."  
    Enemy is just.. So beautiful. The softness, a calm in a clear storm. The contrast between this man's crimes and how he acted truly struck Meta Knight with fright he'd never once felt before. The questions, the way he spoke. It's entrancing in the same way a train wreck or car crash is.  
    "Those memories of yours prove themselves to be very, very promising.. And who's going to believe you when you tell them I came in the night and peered into them..?"  
    He's.. He's using Meta Knight for his memories? For battle plans? Why him inparticular? Was it because he was just a couple-month-in rookie that no one would listen to the babblings of? Yeah, yeah that was probably it.  
    "I think we'll be seeing eachother quite a bit.."  
    Enemy brought his hand up, snapped his fingers, and Meta Knight's eyes were forced to close. The next moment they opened, the tent's zipper was shut tight and the wizard was nowhere to be seen.  
    Meta had control over his body again.  
    The first thing he did was sit up. The second thing he did was scream. The third thing he did was get smacked by a startled, flailing Jecra.  
    "I'M AWAKE I'M AWAKE WHAT'S WRONG-"  
    Jecra shouted over Meta Knight's bat-like (diminishing) screeches. The orb slumped back down into his bed, wheezing loudly like he was just allowed to breathe after holding his breath.  
    "Stars above, bro.. Giving me a scare.."  
    Jecra held his hand over his own heart before getting into a comfortable sitting position. The guy had flailed out of his sleeping bag.  
    "D-Did you have a nightmare or something?"  
    "..Yes. I saw a.. A nightmare."

 

 

* * *

 

    "Hey. I wasn't done with you. Don't think you can just wake up."  
    Oh Stars, eNeMeE, please just go away.. It's bad enough he's had to deal with the wizard in his dreams since the war ended, but he's also had to deal with this whole 'sleep paralysis' thing too. It's now just a thing where eNeMeE just got too overzealous in taking up Meta Knight's time and decided to essentially force paralyzation on him. It was scary the first or fifth time. It's certainly not scary anymore. Especially since the guy isn't even trying to be scary.  
    "Alright, lets see what I can do here.."  
    eNeMeE scanned the dark room, glowing a soft cyan as to light things up. Sorta like a nightlight. He floated over to the dresser, pulling out a few of the drawers on it to examine the insides. Meta Knight had learned that while eNeMeE himself wasn't actually in the room, he could still affect things in it, such as objects. Like dresser drawers. He could also talk, but no one other than Meta Knight could hear him.  
    "Gotta say, the only thing I like about you is your choice of fashion, rotten blueberry."  
    eNeMeE held up one of many extra capes Meta Knight had kept.  
    "Though, can't say I like the white insides. Black is obviously much better. I should know."  
    Yeah, but contrast was nicer. A dark outside cape and a soft white inside looked aesthetically better. Meta Knight's entire body is pretty dark, unlike eNeMeE who had pale metal and literal gold to contrast his blue cape.  
    eNeMeE drops the cape on the ground like a slob. Instead, he goes and picks up some random picture on the dresser before setting it back down, no comment made.  
    Odd.  
    eNeMeE went over to the bookshelf, pulling out a random one. He seemed like he was about to make a 'funny' comment, but just then, the door had opened. Light from the hallway came in in a long stream, and there in the door stood Sword. What the heck was he doing? It was supposed to be like, super late.  
    Meta Knight looked towards eNeMeE, who was staring at the intruder like he'd just been caught with his metal hand in the cookie jar, then towards Sword again.  
    "Oh, sir, yer still awake! Good, I- Oof-"  
    Sword received a book to the helmet, courtesy of the there-but-also-not wizard. eNeMeE giggled to himself as he pulled another out from Meta Knight's library and threw it at Sword again, to the same result.  
    Sword covered his head and rushed back out, leaving the door wide open behind him. eNeMeE gave chase. Meta Knight counted to two mentally.  
    'BWONG'.  
    "OW!"  
    That's the sound of a nightmare wizard hitting the 'limit' of his influence on the outside world. It acted a lot like a barrier, as Meta Knight found out. It was centered around himself, and had a radius of around fifteen feet.   
    "Meta Knight! Stop being lazy and get up so I can chase your dumb bucket-wearing friend!"  
    Meta Knight sighed internally.  
    "S-Sir's room is h-haunted!"  
    Oh Stars if only _,_ Sword _. If only._


End file.
